Manufacturing brick.



No. 839,838. PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907. A. A. GBRY.

' MANUFACTURING BRICK.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1v SHEETS-SHEET PATENTED JAN. 1, 19C

l I 4 1 J l I l v l Y I l I I I I l A. A. GBRY. MANUFACTURING BRICK.

APPLIOATIGN FILED M119. 1905.

-MRMH ALBERT A. GERY, READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURING BRICK.

' Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1907.

Application filed May 19, 1905. Serial No. 261,104.

To a who/1 1, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. GERY, a citizen of the United States,residing in'the city of Reading, Berks county, Pennsylva nia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Manufacturing Brick, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of brick or other material which.8 successively subjected to drying, burning, and cooling treatment; andmy main object is to provide for ell'ecting a more positive and uniformaction of passing air upon the loosely-piled material for the purposeparticularly of thoroughly drying the same preparatory to the urningoperation.

The invention is particularly applicable to the continuous method ofburning in tunnelkilns, which is fully described in my pendingapplications, Serial Nos. 228,128, 230,001, and 242,500, wherein thegreen material is periodically introduced at the entrance end of thetunnel and is successively dried, heated, burned, and cooled as itprogresses to the exit end, the tunnel being constantly filled withmaterial in different stages of treatment, and said material beingcarried upon a moving tunnel-floor made up of a series of abutting cars.

Having ascertained from practical experience that the thorough anduniform drying of the whole mass of green material is.a mat ter ofprimary irn ortance, the failure of which rs a basic operation can be inno way remedied by succeeding treatment, .l have heretofore employedspecial methods and means of d rying,involving both indirect heating ofthe loosely-piled material and the direct action of heated air, asdescribed in my pending application, Serial No. 242,500, above referredto.

i In my present invention lprovide for further improving the dryingoperation by posi tively insuring the effective and uniform action ofthe passing air upon the whole mass of material to be dried, the mainnovel features consisting in maintaining the air in asomewhat-compressed condition during its passage through thedrying-chamber and in so controlling its withdrawal as to mostell'ectively. anduniformly utilize the same therein.

The invention is fully described in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and is ipecifically pointed out in the claims.

igure 1 is an end view, partly in crosssection onthe line 1 1 of Fig. 2,of a seriesof parallel tunnel-kilns embodying reqiusite means forcarrying my invention into effect.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of an end portion of a tunnel, shown toreduced scale, but corresponding mainly with Fig. 1.. r

In carrying out my present invention I preferably employ, as shown, akiln and carfloor construction and an air-pipe system a similar in themain to that set forth in said pending application, Serial No. 242,500,as my improvements are particularly thereto. In this construction theabutting car-floors 1, upon which the brick or other material isperiodically introduced to and gradually progressed through the tunnel2,

adapted are each formed with one or more longitudi 1 nal air-conduits 3below the floor-surface, andsthese conduits of each car-floorcommunicate with those of adjoining car-floors to form a continuouspassage or passages extending the full length of the train. Atmosphericair drawn into these passages through the foremost car of the train atthe exit end of the tunnel flows rearward through the train, abstractingheat in the first place from the outgoing floor-sections and then fromthe highly-heated inner tunnel floor-sections. When this heated airreaches the entrance end of the tunnel, it delivers its heat in parttothe cooler incoming fioor-sections, so as to indirectly heat the lowerlayers of brick piled on said sections and the lower strata of air incontact with said brick, and is finally utilized directly upon theincoming brick by delivering it. into the incoming end portion of thetunnel through a suitable pipe system. This latter comprises, as shown,a connecting airpipe 4, removably attached to the rear end of eachlast-entered car-floor, a fixed vertical air-pipe 5 therefrom to acommon transverse. pipe 6, a fan-chamber 7 in connection With,

the latter, and a main blast-pipeS therefrom,

branch blast-pipes with extensiong, having 11 12, extendin into'thetunnel at a height above the movable car-floors and dischar ng theheated air through suitable perforations into the looselywhich is moreful y described in my pending application mentioned.

The heated air thus brought into contact with the undried brick in thetunnel and laden with moisture therefrom, is finally discharged througha transverse fiue'l3, connecting a series of tunnels with a commonoutlet or iled undried bric'k,- all of l drying end of the tunnel fromthe side walls thereof in a manner similar to the indirect heatingetlected through the movable hollow floor-sections; The drying portionof each. tunnel is also cut off from communication with the inner tunnelduring the intervals between the introduction of new cars by thevertically-movable partition 17.

The construction and operation already described enable good. results tobe secured;

but I have found that the passing air may be better utilized'and moreuniform action attained by more positively and elficaciously controllingthe contact and flow of the air through the brick. To this end I convertthe entrance cndof the tunnel rearwardot' the movable partition 17 intoan approximately air-tight chamber having pro )orly-located andadjustably-restricted outiets, whereby the air forced into said chambermay be sutficiently compressed therein to insure uniform contact thereofwith every portion ol" the loosely-pilcd brick, and the low of outgoingair at all points in the length of the chamber may'be properlycontrolled to secure e ual and thorough treatment through. out. he endclosure 18 oi the tunnel is adapted to close the latter, so as topractically cut off the inflow of atmospheric air therethrough to thedrying-cliamber, thus ermitting a sullieient compression ol air to ereadily maint ained by the forced delivery through the blast-pipe 12. Aseries of lowdown side outlets 19 tron'rthcdryiiig-chamber communicatethrough suitable conduits 20 with air-p assages 21 each having d amper-controlled communication with the transverse. flue 13 and the outletor stack 14, whorebya roperly restricted and distributed liowoi air Fromthe bottom of the drying-chamber to the latter is secured. By means ofthe unilorm pressure and regulated flow of air thus secured mall partsoithe drying-chainber, in connection with the indirectlyheated side wallsand floor, themost etl'ective and uniform treat- I ment of the brick maybe positively secured.

The amount of heated air delivered into the drying-chamber and withdrawntherefrom is adapted to effect the thorough drying of each car-load ofbrick during its normal passa e therethrough.

. RNhat I claim is- 1. The improvement in manu'l'aeturine brick or thelike which consists in subjecting the same while loosely piled in adryingchamber to the action of iii-forced air which is temporarilystored in said chamber under GOMI' ession while circulatingthercthrough.

lahe improvement in mimufacturing ward circulation of temporarily-storedair is thereof separated from the main kiln by a brick or the like whichconsists in subjecting the same while loosely piled in a dryingchamberto the action of in-i'orced heated air which. is temporarily stored insaid chamber under compression while circulating there through.

3. The improvement in manufacturing brick or the like which consists inSIIbJGPT-H'Ig the same while loosel )iled in a drvin l s chamber to theaction of in i'orced air which is 7 tem 'iorarily stored in saidclian'lber under compression, and indirectly heated therein whilecirculating therethrough.

4. A tunnel-kiln having an end section thereof separated from the mainkiln by a movable partition, and provided with an end closure to formacut-oil chamber, a periodically-progressing brick-carrying floor made upof abutting floor-sections, means for admitting heated air underpressure to the iwer portion of said chamber midway of its width, andrestricted low-down out-lets therefor through each side wall of saidchamber, whereby a central upward flow of the incoming air and lat oraldownward flow of stored air is maintained in said chamber, substantiallyas set forth.

A tunnel-kiln havingan end section thereof separated from the main kilnby a movable partition, and provided with an end closure to form acut-off chamber, a periodt ically-pnigressing brick-carrying floor madeup of abutting floor-sections, means for forcing air into said chamberto compress the same therein, and adjustable means for discharging the.air therefrom whereby a desired degree of compression of the passing airis maintained in said chamber substantially as set forth.

6. A tunnel-kiln having an end section thereof separated from the mainkiln by a movable partition, and rovided with an end closure to form. acut-o I chamber, a periodsally-progressing brick-carrying floor made upof abutting floor-sections, means for forcing heated air into sailchamber to compress the same therein, an adjustable means fordischarging the air from the lower portion of said chamber whereby adownward circulation of compressed air is maintained in-said chambersubstantiallyas set forth.

7. A tunnel-kiln having an end section thereof separated from the mainkiln by a movable partition, and provided with an end closure to form acutoff chamber, a periodically-progressing brick car'rying floor made upof abutting floor-sections, means for forcing heated air into saidchamber, and restricted side outlets for air from the lower portion ofsaid chamber whereby-a downmaintained in said chamber substantially asset iorth.

A tunnehkiln having an end section movable partition, and rovided withan end closure to form a G11t-0 ically-pro'gressing brick-carrying 001'made up of abutting floor-sections, fines in the side walls of saidchamber arranged in communication with the main tunnel; se s'rateoutlets for s11 1n 881d side walls arrange 1n communieetion with thelower portion of said chamber,

and means for nmintaim'ng a circulation of air tlirough the latter tosaid air-outlets subxq chsmbeli 1 a, periodstantieily as set forth. I i

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT A. GERY.

